Abstract
Self-organizing artificial neural networks are a popular tool for studying visual system development, in particular the cortical feature maps present in real systems that represent properties such as ocular dominance (OD), orientation-selectivity (OR) and direction selectivity (DS). They are also potentially useful in artificial systems, for example robotics, where the ability to extract and learn features from the environment in an unsupervised way is important. In this computational study we explore a DS map that is already latent in a simple artificial network. This latent selectivity arises purely from the cortical architecture without any explicit coding for DS and prior to any self-organising process facilitated by spontaneous activity or training. We find DS maps with local patchy regions that exhibit features similar to maps derived experimentally and from previous modeling studies. We explore the consequences of changes to the afferent and lateral connectivity to establish the key features of this proto-architecture that support DS.
DOI
10.1371/jourl.pone.0102908
Publication Date
2014-01-01
Publication Title
PLoS ONE
Volume
9
Issue
7
ISSN
1932-6203
Organisational Unit
School of Psychology
Keywords
Action Potentials, Computer Simulation, Dominance, Ocular, Humans, Models, Neurological, Neural Networks, Computer, Neurons, Orientation, Visual Cortex
Recommended Citation
Adams, S., & Harris, C. (2014) 'A proto-architecture for innate directionally selective visual maps.', PLoS ONE, 9(7). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/jourl.pone.0102908
